No - luckily I'm in an area where, yes, farmers & the town are feeling the drought, but I'm in the middle of nowhere with a 575-foot well & so far (fingers crossed) no problems. But then again, as a long-time big-time organic gardener, I practice basic water conservation all the time, drought or not. My lawn, such as it is, has never EVER seen a drop of hose water. I just let it go dormant when things get rough, & it always recovers. The only things I've watered have been newly planted trees/shrubs/container plants, etc., & even then it's been very judicious & just enough to ward off the Grim Reaper - lol!!

I buy bottled water (& yes, I do recycle the bottles) simply because I like the taste. Our water, while good, is very "minerally", & I just prefer the taste of bottled water. Plus, I always keep several bottles in the freezer to take out to the barn & garden with me during the day, & to keep on my bedstand at night.

As far as stocking up on other things, the only stuff I buy in excess is some canned soup, chili, broths, etc., in the fall/winter, in case we have a bad winter storm & lose power. But that's it.

Oh yes. As gas prices increase, food price do for most of us. It is easy to say to eat everything local and in season. Haha. I've lived all over the country, and we all like the "luxury" of eating, say, lettuce in December (yes, I remember when you couldn't get anything but maybe iceberg if you lived in northern climes), and other such frivolities as oranges and ... well I could go on. So when gas prices go up, food price to for many of us. As does it take wheat, soy, and corn products for much of the country from where we now live. So, yes, the price of food goes up when the price of gas goes up. I'm certainly feeling it. But I'm grateful to have oranges; I'm grateful to have the stuff that wasn't available year-round when I was younger. I've never gone without bread simply because I've not lived where grains were grown. I have to budget more when the price of gas is (artificially) inflated, but I continue to at least try to get good nutrition from food. But, to me, yes, food is becoming more expensive. As long as it costs a lot to transport the stuff we need to eat, the price will go up. I'm feeling the pinch. But I know what the real problem is.

Found this in our local paper, but it's around Brooklyn, NY, I formatted it the best I could:

Paydays Not Arriving Fast Enough For Working Poor Rising Costs Are Stretching Many Paychecks To The Breaking Point New York — The calculus of living paycheck to paycheck in America is getting harder.

What used to last four days might last half that long now. Pay the gas bill, but skip breakfast. Eat less for lunch so the kids can have a healthy dinner.

Across the nation, Americans are increasingly unable to stretch their dollars to the next payday as they juggle higher rent, food and energy bills. It's starting to affect middle-income working families as well as the poor, and has reached the point of affecting day-to-day calculations of merchants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 7-Eleven Inc. and Family Dollar Stores Inc.

Food pantries, which distribute foodstuffs to the needy, are reporting severe shortages and reduced government funding at the very time that they are seeing a surge of new people seeking their help.

While economists debate whether the country is headed for a recession, some say the financial stress is already the worst since the last downturn at the start of this decade.

From Family Dollar to Wal-Mart, merchants have adjusted their product mix and pricing accordingly. Sales data show a marked and more prolonged drop in spending in the days before shoppers get their paychecks, when they buy only the barest essentials before splurging around payday.

“It's pretty pronounced,” said Kiley Rawlins, a spokeswoman at Family Dollar. “It seems like to us, customers are running out of food products, paper towels sooner in the month.”
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said the imbalance in spending before and after payday in July was the biggest it has ever seen, though the drop-off wasn't as steep in August.

And 7-Eleven says its grocery sales have jumped 12 percent to 13 percent over the past year, compared with only slight increases for non-necessities like gloves and toys. Shoppers can't afford to load up at the supermarket and are going to the most convenient places to buy emergency food items like milk and eggs.

“It even costs more to get the basics like soap and laundry detergent,” said Michelle Grassia, who lives with her husband and three teenage children in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Her husband's check from his job at a grocery store used to last four days. “Now, it lasts only two,” she said.

To make up the difference, Grassia buys one gallon of milk a week instead of three. She sometimes skips breakfast and lunch to make sure there's enough food for her children. She cooks with a hot plate because gas is too expensive. And she depends more than ever on the bags of free vegetables and powdered milk from a local food pantry.

Grassia's story is neither new nor unique. With the fastest-rising food and energy prices since the 1980s, low-income consumers are stretching their budgets by eating cheap foods like peanut butter and pasta.
Industry analysts and some economists fear the strain will get worse as people are hit with higher home-heating bills this winter and mortgage rates go up.

It's bad enough already for 85-year-old Dominica Hoffman, who gets $1,400 a month in pension and Social Security from her days in the garment industry. After paying $500 in rent on an apartment in Pennsauken, N.J., and shelling out money for food, gas and other expenses, she's broke by the end of the month. She's had to cut fruits and vegetables from her grocery order — and that's even with financial help from her children.

“Everything is up,” she said.

Many consumers, particularly those making less than $30,000 a year, are cutting spending on nutritious food like milk and vegetables, and analysts fear they're further skimping on basic medical care and other critical services.
Coupon-clipping just isn't enough.

“The reality of hunger is right here,” said the Rev. Melony Samuels, director of The BedStuy Campaign against Hunger, a church-affiliated food pantry in Brooklyn that scrambled to feed 5,000 new families over the past 12 months, up almost 70 percent from 3,000 the year before.

“I'm shocked to see such numbers,” Samuels said, “and I'm really concerned that this is just the beginning of what we're going to see.”

In the past three months, Samuels has seen more clients in higher-paying jobs — the $35,000 range — line up for food.

The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, which covers 23 counties in New York State, cited a 30 percent rise in visitors in the first nine months of this year, compared with 2006.

Maureen Schnellmann, senior director of food and nutrition programs at the American Red Cross Food Pantry in Boston, reported a 30 percent increase from January through August over last year.

Until a few months ago, Dellria Seales, a home care assistant, was just getting by living with her daughter, a hairdresser, and two grandchildren in a one-bedroom apartment for $750 a month. But a knee injury in January forced her to quit her job, leaving her at the mercy of Samuels' pantry because most of her daughter's $1,200 a month income goes to rent, energy and food costs.
“I need it. Without it, we wouldn't survive,” Seales said as she picked up carrots and bananas.
John Vogel, a professor at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, worries that the squeeze will lead to a less nutritious diet and inadequate medical or child care.

In the meantime, rising costs show no signs of abating.
Gas prices hit a record nationwide average of $3.23 per gallon in late May before receding a little, though prices are expected to soar again later this year. Food costs have increased 4.5 percent over the past 12 months, partly because of higher fuel costs. Egg prices were 44 percent higher, while milk was up 21.3 percent over the past 12 months to nearly $4 a gallon, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The average family of four is spending anywhere from $7 to $10 extra a week — $40 more a month — on groceries alone, compared to a year ago, according to retail consultant Burt Flickinger III.

And while overall wage growth is a solid 4.1 percent over the past 12 months, economists say the increases are mostly for the top earners.

Retailers started noticing the strain in late spring and early summer as they were monitoring the spending around the paycheck cycle

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In order to change the world, one must first start with one's self.

I have seen the price increase, mainly eggs, milk, juice, and meats. It's crazy! Hubby went with me last night to grocery shop and he was shocked.

I do like most on here, buy in bulk, use coupons and take advantage of sales. I try to use everything and not waste.

One tip I discovered last night that I did not know... the grocery store I went to gives a $.05 credit for every bag you bring of your own. I thought that was a pretty neat incentive to buy and use canvas bags!

There is no one reason .... there are several that are all interrelated.

Fuel Costs: Well ... tractors, combines and harvesters don't run on air, or sunlight as of yet ... so the costs for producing crops is up - as well as moving them to market. But, in an effort to reduce fuel costs we are now using corn to make ethanol to replace a portion of the fossil fuels ... and that has resulted in the cost of corn to double, and competitioin between food producers and fuel producers. The sad thing is ... with a little more research and federal funding we could probably perfect the process of making ethanol from cellulose ... so instead of using food grain we could use sticks, leaves, lawn clippings, etc. ...

Corn Prices: Anything that depends on corn in it's production is going to cost more ... from Corn Flakes and Tortillas to Eggs, Chicken and beef - and even farm raised fish.

Drought: A drought has a long lasting impact. About 7-8 years ago the drought in TX got so bad that ranchers were having to reduce their herds - which made for some really cheap beef prices for about a year. Without rain, the grass the cattle normally grazed on didn't grow - and the supplimental hay was also limited - so it cost more ... plus there was less water available for the cattle to drink. But, a cow is a cow ... so not only were the beef producers reducing their herds - so were the dairy farmers, for the same reasons. Well, we've had good rains this year ... so much that it has ruined a lot of the grapes for the wine producers (yes, we make some good wine in TX). But, before the beef and dairy cattle can recover - it will take time and consistently good annual rainfall. Oh, and this also impacts the price of leather - and feeds that contain bone meal .... and I would not be suprised to see an increase in the next year or two in cotton products, and peanut butter with the current drought in GA. But, other parts of the country that experience droughts impact other parts of the food chain ... grains, legumes, vegetables, etc ....

Florida OJ: We can thank Mother Nature for most of this problem. Too much rain, too little rain, an early freeze at the worst time ... and hurricanes. Not to mention the normal diseases that attack citrus trees and fruits. And, those have all happened in the past 3-5 years! Some citrus growers are giving up and selling their orchards to land developers - and making a lot of money in the process. So, instead of rows and rows of orange trees ... there are more and more rows of Condos. And, the drought has impacted the TX orange crops down in the valley ...

Food Recalls: Topps went bankrupt from their ground beef recall - but larger companies that have the capital to sustain their operations will make up their losses from increased prices - like the lettuce and spinach recalls earlier this year.

Supply & Demand: Well, we're darned if we do and darned if we don't. As the price of beef went up we started looking for alternatives ... so the demand for fish, pork and chicken went up ... and as the demand went up - so did the prices.

ARRGH!!! I think it's time to revive the concept of the Victory Garden!

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"It ain't what you don't know that gets you in trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain

Well said Michael in Ft Worth. I too remember the victory gardens, and I'm sure you know that other countries have that practice - they just aren't called "victory", they are more like "survival" gardens. Here in the US we have been taught and believe that we are somehow beyond all this, that we are blessed by a higher power to perpetual wealth. Isn't true. Thanks again for your comments.